Brouhaha

"Oxfam killed my bookshop!" The brouhaha began after The Salisbury Journal called on Marc Harrison, 42, a ponytailed former Roman Catholic priest who, until this summer when he could no longer pay his mortgage, ran the [second-hand bookshop] Ellwood Books on Winchester Street, a modest commercial strip just beyond the center of town.

Oxfam is the internationally renowned organization dedicated to "fighting poverty and famine, providing emergency relief, combating climate change and discrimination". And, apparently and mysteriously, second-hand booksellers with bearded collies named Mitchell.


The ponytailed ex-Catholic priest caught my attention first, but there are several surprising elements that seem begging for a story. Treat it as a slice of quirky life or throw in international terrorist plots if you wish. England makes me think of Doctor Who so maybe Oxfam is really some alien cover! :-)

Inspired by Beleaguered Bookseller Knows Whom to Blame: Oxfam in the NY Times. (You may need to register to see the article.)